Vescent is an online community where girls are encouraged to support and inspire one another, share stories, ask questions, and talk about real issues they face while receiving valuable feedback and advice from peers and mentors.

Community mentors are college-aged females who go through Sharpen training, a mental health resiliency and literacy program, mentor training and mandatory reporting training. Vescent features a news feed, chat, and public and private affinity groups. Vescent also has an "ask me" section, where girls can post questions to the entire community or the mentor community publicly or anonymously.

Studies show that mental health issues, like suicide, self harm, anxiety, and body image issues are on the rise. "likes,” "follows,” and filtered photography lead to an obsession with comparing oneself to others. online cyberbullying is prevalent on existing platforms like Instagram (42%) and snapchat (31%). Purposeful exclusion and sharing inappropriate content are common ways to hurt a peer. The digital world and social media have taken the place of true human interaction, making teens feel lonely, disconnected, and often times depressed.

Vescent is starting a pilot program in the Spring of 2024.  During this pilot, we will be gathering data from teens and coaches on the Vescent experience.  We place a high priority on looking at data points to make sure that the Vescent app is a resource that truly helps teens. We are currently recruiting both mentors and teen girls for a pilot. Our initial pilot includes cohorts of local teens from area non-profit organizations. Anyone interested in participating should email hello@Vescent.co.

All teen girls between ages 13-17 that wish to participate in our pilot should email us at hello@Vescent.co.

Anyone wishing to join our team as a mentor should fill out our interest form.

Vescent's unique partnership with Resiliency Technologies offers Vescent members a robust library of evidence-based, expert-led and peer-focused mental health literacy training that improves emotional wellness.

During our initial pilot program, Vescent is a free app. Users will create accounts through the Vescent website.

Cindy Abel

Dr. Amanda Giordano UGA Professor

Robyn Hussa Farrell

Dr. Katie Hein

UGA College of Public Health Interns:

Olivia Marks - Lead Mentor

Claire Bacarella

UGA Marketing Interns:

Madison Bolt

Brooke Nettles

The targeted public launch for the app is summer of 2024.

Please email hello@Vescent.co for additional questions.